


if i could take away the sorrows etched in you

by eliestarr



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Thunderstorms, but like... melancholy fluff?, extremely vague allusions to past abuse/shitty childhoods if you Squint, heart hotel squad mentioned in passing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2019-05-22
Packaged: 2020-03-09 09:51:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18914545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eliestarr/pseuds/eliestarr
Summary: “Trees attract lightning, y'know,” the boy says, in a tone that implies he’s an idiot for being here, but he stands in the space Ventus made anyway. The blond looks up at the sky warily, eyes narrowed in distrust of the storm clouds. “You get stuck outside?”“What gave you that idea?” Ventus rolls his eyes. Another flash illuminates the expanse above them and he shudders. The other boy doesn't seem the least bit concerned.“You want a list?” the boy asks, his gold eyes mischievous and electric like the sky. Ventus has never seen anything like them, before. They’re kind of beautiful. “Vanitas, by the way.”Ventus goes out for a walk to clear his head, and gets stuck in a thunderstorm. To his surprise, he finds the one member of Yen Sid's Home For Troubled Youths he hasn't met out there too.





	if i could take away the sorrows etched in you

**Author's Note:**

> for teresa, and for all the rain we got last week that made me feel melancholy enough that this sort of happened.
> 
> title from _april_ by sleeping at last.

Lightning flashes in the sky, bright and sharp. The thunder rolls in not long after, low and threatening. It's a sign, a warning, that Ventus shouldn't be outside. He knows this, and really, he would much rather be inside. The storm came seemingly out of nowhere, yet it doesn't appear to be letting up any time soon.

Theoretically he could make a run for it through the rain and go back to Master Yen Sid's house, only he’s not certain he would end up back at the right place. He’s only been in town a few days, and his new group home is just nondescript enough he could probably lose it amongst the rest of this sleepy little beach suburb, in this weather. There's also the fact that the tree he's sheltering under is keeping him relatively dry and he doesn't really want to get wet if he can help it.

Rain was always Aqua’s thing, not his.

(The thought of her brings a twist of guilt to his chest, an echo of longing for the friends he won’t be able to see again for awhile. But he tries not to think about that.)

At the very least, he’d find the sound of it soothing if he weren’t actually outside in it. And the lightning really is beautiful. Captivating. Another flash of it answers his train of thought then, brighter than before, there and gone before he can blink. The following thunder seems louder, more ominous.

That's when Ventus sees him. The boy out in the park.

He's completely unequipped for the rain, just like Ventus. Only he's not running for shelter, or even looking like it bothers him. His black shorts and tank top are completely drenched, blending in with the shadows of the park, his dark hair plastered to his forehead as he looks up at the sky. And then he notices Ventus.

He walks over slowly, evidently not in any rush to get out of the rain. When he gets close enough, Ventus shuffles over to try and make room for them both underneath the tree.

“Trees attract lightning, y'know,” the boy says, in a tone that implies he’s an idiot for being here, but he stands in the space Ventus made anyway. The blond looks up at the sky warily, eyes narrowed in distrust of the storm clouds. “You get stuck outside?”

“What gave you that idea?” Ventus rolls his eyes. Another flash illuminates the expanse above them and he shudders. The other boy doesn't seem the least bit concerned.

“You want a list?” the boy asks, his gold eyes mischievous and electric like the sky. Ventus has never seen anything like them, before. They’re kind of beautiful. “Vanitas, by the way.”

The name prickles with familiarity, pulling at the furthest corner of his mind. A hazy memory from a few short days ago, when he’d been dropped on Yen Sid’s doorstep by his case worker and given a tour of his new group home by a bright, cheery kid named Sora. The door at the top of the stairs, the attic room—hadn’t the pipsqueak said it belonged to someone by that name? Hadn’t Roxas repeated the name at dinner, when they’d all been gathered except one, some angry jerk who never came out, never bothered to befriend the rest of the household?

Ventus can’t really be sure, considering how blurry his first few hours in the house at been, before he’d gotten food and sleep for the first time in… well. Awhile, anyway.

“Ven,” he says, dragging himself out of the fog in his head. He sees the barest hint of recognition in the way the other boy’s brows rise into his dark hairline. “So, what're you doing out here then? You don't look stuck. Or bothered at all, actually.”

“My therapist says I need to live in the present more, whatever the fuck that means,” Vanitas shrugs. Ventus’ eyes are drawn to the scars on the other boy’s upper arms, a constellation of white starbursts against richly tanned skin. He wonders if they tell a story, the way the criss-crossed lines on Ventus’ chest do. A story etched into their skin by crueler hands than theirs, just like all the other kids at the house.

He forces himself to look away, but he knows Vanitas saw him looking. “Also thunderstorms are cool, so there’s that.”

Ventus snorts. “So, what, you just decided to come outside in the middle of a storm?”

“Pretty much,” his voice is rough around the edges, but there’s a wicked grin on his lips. “The rain feels nice, I'm talking to a cute boy—it's looking like a damn good decision so far."

Vanitas says it so nonchalantly that for a second, Ventus isn’t sure if he's being serious or not. When he finds nothing more than sincerity written in pools of gold and the smallest flecks of green, the blond blushes. The satisfactory grin that stretches across the other boy's lips makes his face heat. Had he just said it to get a rise out of him?

The wind changes direction, blowing rain into the dry spot they're sheltering in. Ventus groans and covers his face with his arm, not enjoying the rain soaking him. Vanitas just snickers, the dick, and moves back out into the downpour, getting freshly drenched.

“Come on, it feels good.” There’s that smile again, the one that’s all at once inviting and dangerously thrilling. It absolutely spells trouble, which gives Ventus pause as he stares at the hand held out to him. Vanitas is just far enough away that he’ll need to go right out into the storm to take it. The blond deliberates for a moment longer, but he's already made up his mind.

“Screw it,” he mutters, stepping out of the shelter and taking Vanitas’ hand. It’s rough, just like his voice, and callused, but the dark-haired boy tugs him almost gently into the downpour. The rain is warm against Ventus’ skin, hitting him with an almost bruising force; he half expects to wake up black and blue in the morning.

It doesn't matter though, Vanitas’ smile makes it worth it. He sees teeth in the dark, for just a moment, splitting his lips like lightning flashing in the sky.

“Come on!” Vanitas calls, breaking into a run and tugging Ventus after him. He doesn't seem to have any particular destination in mind, they just run around the park until they're laughing and breathless, skidding and almost slipping a number of times. It shouldn't be so fun, yet Ventus can't remember the last time he enjoyed himself as much as this.

Ventus pulls Vanitas over to a different tree which is still dry underneath, both boys panting and grinning as they try to get their breaths back. He’s officially soaked through, his clothes clinging to his skin and almost physically weighing him down with how much water is in them. It doesn’t matter though, in this moment he feels like he can do anything. Like for once, his choices are his own to make, instead of set in stone for him by someone else, a mould just for him.

So he does.

Taking Vanitas’ other hand, he slowly pushes him until his back's against the tree. Vanitas seems to have the same idea, already glancing at Ventus’ lips with a sly grin.

“Do it,” Vanitas breathes, and that's all Ventus needs.

He leans in to close the distance between them, kissing Vanitas with all the emotion that the storm has drawn out of him. Vanitas kisses him back just as forcefully and lifts their hands, pressing them back against the tree. Ventus gets the idea and pushes his body against Vanitas’, pinning his hands above his head.

He feels rather than hears Vanitas groan into his mouth, the noise of the rain all but drowning out the sound. They break apart just slightly, panting heavily against each other's lips. Vanitas connects them again and thunder rolls across the sky, cacophonous and brilliant. They're almost complete strangers, yet nothing has ever felt so natural, so right. As though they were drawn together, an inevitable orbit.

In the eye of the storm, there's only the two of them in the entire world. It's perfect.

Maybe there’s something to living in the present, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> shoves this strangely self indulgent modern au where all the heart squad kids/guardians of light live in a group home operated by Yen Sid and help each other to heal from the traumas of their pasts at you and runs. Terra/Aqua (and Lea/Isa) don't live there, as they're older, but Ventus met the former two through his previous group home's Brother/Sister program before it went defunct (hint: it's because the owner of the house, Eraqus, died.)
> 
> come find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/_eliestarr)


End file.
